Winter insects of Eastern New York / by Asa Fitch.

  • Fitch, Asa, 1809-1879.
Date:
[1847]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Winter insects of Eastern New York / by Asa Fitch. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

    3/12
    WINTER INSECTS OF EASTERN NEW YORK. BY ASA FITCH, M. D. It is the object of the following paper, to describe those insects of Eastern New York, which occur in their perfect state in the win- ter, and are peculiar to that season and the early part of spring. They are objects of curiosity, as coming forth to our view in full maturity and vigor, at that time in the year when almost every other member of the animal and vegetable kingdoms is reposing in torpidity under the chilling influence of solstitial cold. In an economical aspect, they possess but little importance, their period of life being limited to that season when the field furnishes no herbage, the garden no flowers, and the orchard no fruits, on which they can prey. They are chiefly interesting, therefore, merely as objects of scientific research—as forming integral parts of that vast array of animated beings, with which the Father of Life has populated our world, and rendered it vocal with his praise. Hence it is to the scientific rather than the agricultural reader, that the following pages are addressed. To him they will be suf- ficiently intelligible, without such illustrations as have accompa- nied our previous contributions to this Journal. A few words respecting the analogies of the two first species here described, may not be devoid of interest to the general reader. A small insect, destitute of wings, and bearing some resemblance to a flea in its general aspect, is found in the winter season, upon the snow in the northern part of Europe, and also occurs upon the Alps and the Hartz mountains. It has been known for nearly a century, and from its singularly anomalous characters, naturalists have been much perplexed to determine in which particular family of the insect tribes it might with the most propriety be placed. Linnaeus was the first to classify and name it. He regarded it as possessing more analogies with the species associated in his genus j J A i - m r r\ i^2i